Destiel, The Raijū
by Pugstiel
Summary: Cas runs a lost pet shelter whilst Dean is a vagrant kicked out of home by Dad after his Mum is killed. Terror brings them together but is everything what it seems? Will their lives ever be the same?
1. Chapter 1

Cas works at a pet rescue shelter and often takes home strays that don't get adopted quickly. He works so hard to look after these lost pets because it breaks his heart to see in their eyes how sad, scared and abandoned they are.

One day after finishing late he has to drop down to the supermarket to pick up some dog food. Hurrying across the car park in the rain he notices a huddled up figure sitting hunched and shuddering in a dark hoodie under the building eaves. He quickly turns back to his parked car, grabs his trench coat from the boot, and hurries back over to the hooded figure.

"Hey! Would a coat help?" he asks kindly, stretching his coat-stuffed fist out to the hooded frame.

A shadowed face looks up slowly. As the young man's head tips back, the hoodie falls to his shoulders, and the reflection from the carpark lamps flash out of the most brilliant apple-green eyes Cas has ever seen: beautiful, sad, haunted green eyes.

Cas's heart skips a beat.

"Thanks" says the young man in a surprisingly deep and gruff voice as he takes the coat.

Catching himself staring, Cas drops down in front of the young man into a deep squat and, wrapping his arms tight around his knees, looks deeply into those heartbreaker eyes.

"I'm Cas", he says gently, hoping to keep the guy talking.

"Dean." The young man sighs wearily as his head lowers to his chest and he wraps Cas's trench coat tightly around his shoulders.

Cas imagines Dean wrapping himself in the coat as if it were the wings of an angel...

"Can I get you anything?" Cas asks hesitantly.

"No I'm good. Thanks for the coat," Dean mumbles into his chest. Not wanting to cause offence Cas gets up awkwardly and, after a brief longing glance at Dean's brown unruly mop of hair, lightly sparkling with drops of rain, he turns away towards the supermarket to finish his shopping. It isn't long before his mind also turns to the two new puppies waiting for a feed at home.

It is several days later, when Cas is softly brushing the unruly coat of a newly rescued dog, that the memory of Dean intrudes into his thoughts. As he gently brushes out the hair of the young Alsatian, he imagines running his fingers through Dean's mop of rain sprinkled hair. He feels how soft Dean's hair is between his fingers. He imagines those beautiful green eyes closing; that strong chin tipping back, lips parting, as Dean emits a contented sigh.

Cas jolts back to reality as the Alsatian plants a long wet doggy tongue right up his cheek - panting happy dog breath into his face. Laughing softly Cas gives the dog a firm scrub behind the ear before returning him to his kennel - freshly cleaned with a new dog bed, full water bowl and a chew bone to play with. Seeing the Alsatian settle happily into his new bed and chewing on his bone fills Cas with a wonderful sense of gratitude and contentment. But just underneath his happy smile there is something else - a lit spark - a fire slowly growing with desire. Cas knew better to dwell on such feelings - he had plenty of work to do here at the shelter. But as he shook his head and walked off to his next task, nothing could deny the whisper of his soul breathing "Dean..."

Dean woke with a start as a huge semi trailer sped past on the highway. Dean had found shelter under the overhanging branches of the endless fir forest that the highway snakes through. After carefully wrapping the trench coat around himself he lay his head on a pillow of wet pine needles and fell into a fitful sleep.

"Must be late," Dean thought as he stretched out the crinks in his neck and shoulders.

Dean Winchester was used to sleeping rough. Ever since his Dad booted his butt out the door after his Mum was killed, Dean had survived on the fringes of life. That's who he was - a survivor. Nothing prepared him for the shock of the street though and it was no secret that Dean had not easily found his feet. People seemed to take a liking to him. Too much of a liking. Fighting his way out of a truck he hitched a ride with about a month back was the last straw. Dean had learnt to keep away from folks. They only ever wanted a piece of him and, Dean mused with a grimace, there wasn't much left to take. He guarded his independence fiercely and made his way between towns sleeping in woods and vacant lots away from people; only stopping in built up areas to get food and shelter when the weather was too rough.

"Don't need no one" Dean breathed emphatically as he folded the trench coat into a neat square. Looking out onto the cars swiftly passing down the motorway he breathed: "Ain't no one need me either".

That night back at Cas's Shelter a strange glow emitted from the Alsatian's kennel. Dogs in the surrounding kennels paced and panted nervously. When a shrieking cry rang out, every dog went beserk - barking and howling furiously, scratching at their kennel doors and scattering their bowls and beds everywhere. Just as suddenly as it began, the shrieking stopped. Total silence hung like an oily fog in the air. The other dogs froze: glassy eyes, dilated pupils, stiff limbs voicing their terror and fear while their throats remained silenced by the veil of night. Far away lightning cracked the sky and simultaneously Dean in the forest and Cas in his home sprung awake with deadly fear like ice in their hearts.

Dean is sprinting through the forest breathing in gasping ragged breaths. He hopes he's heading towards the highway but can only run and dodge the lightning bolts crashing around him and try not to die. He has no idea what is happening. He woke up to a massive crash of lightning that scared the beejesus out of him. Quickly wrapping his stuff up in the trench coat, he bolted away from where he had been sleeping in a small clearing of the forest and rushed into the trees. That's when another strike hit the ground not more than fifty feet away from him knocking him to the ground. As he got up and started running more bolts smashed into trees and the ground around him until he could barely think. Now he was just running for his life.

Cas got out of bed shaking and pulled some clothes on. He went to turn the house lights on but the switch didn't work. Hearing thunder cracking in the distance, he fumbled in the kitchen looking for his car keys in the dark. He needed to get to the kennels before the storm did any damage or the dogs got hurt. He runs out to the car filled with dread that something terrible is about to happen.

Dean trips over and snaps his wrist, crying out in pain. He sees a flash of lightning in front of him and thinks he sees a dog silhouetted against the flash. Shaking his head to clear his ears of the ringing and grabbing hold of his wrist to brace it, he gets up stumbling and starts sprinting again towards the highway.

Cas is speeding down the dark, empty highway when suddenly a crash of lightning hits the road right in front of the car. Cas is blinded and slamming on the brakes, spins the car out of control. Skidding across the road, the car smashes its rear end into the trunk of a giant fir tree. The force of the spin and the impact knocks Cas unconscious against the steering wheel as the car's engine skips and stalls.

Dean sees the lights of Cas's car through the foliage as he runs. He heads instinctively towards it hoping like hell that there's someone who can get him out of here. He stumbles into the car, looks through the passenger window and sees a man passed out with his head on the steering wheel. Alarmed he stumbles around the other side of the car, pulling foliage out of the way with his good hand, and wrenches open the driver side door. The man unconsciously slumps towards him and Dean catches him - crying out in pain as his snapped wrist takes the weight - and slowly lowers him to the ground. Checking for a pulse he sees that the man is alive and, taking his trench coat and rolling it into a ball as best he can with one hand, places the coat gently under the poor guy's neck.

Looking around for anything he can use, he's about to get up and check the rest of the car when Cas moans softly and starts to come around. "Hey hey hey - steady there, just take it slow" he says softly, holding the man's head with his good hand. Cas brings his own hand to his head to wipe his eyes and just barely opens them a crack. He slowly focuses on the face above him in the dark, seeing those incredible green eyes flashing into his soul. "Dean" he croaks before passing out once more.

Dean freezes in surprise as he hears the man speak his name. "Son of a bitch" he cusses under his breath, wracking his brain until he suddenly realises who Cas is when he looks at the trench coat cradling the man's neck. He needs to help this guy.

Getting up, he moves around to where the car boot has popped open from impact. Inside he finds a first aid kit, water, a tarp and a long machete. After taking these around to where Cas lays, he uses the first aid kit to splint his wrist. Finding a couple of pain killers he swallows them dry and after a minute starts setting up a tarp shelter over the unconscious man.

Feeling his head getting light he goes looking through the rest of the car. He finds a couple of packets of Haribos in the front seat and a torch in the dash. Silently thanking the unconscious man for his forethought, Dean moves back over to where the man lays and checks the man's breathing. He looks for blood loss and any damage over the rest of the man's body. He can't help but notice the guy's athletic build as he runs his hands down limbs looking for breaks. Finding none he sits down to eat some of the gummy bears with relief. It's then he notices that the storm has stopped and everything is silent.

Dean decides he needs to get his sugar levels up while his mind tries to process what the hell just happened. A memory of the dog silhouetted against the lightning as it struck in front of him flashes into his mind. "What the actual fuck?!" He whispers and turns to look at Cas as the man moans softly and starts to wake.

"What happened?" Cas moans weakly, trying to sit up. "Where am I?" He looks confused as Dean gently presses him back to lay down.

"You've had a car accident and there was a weird storm..." Dean trails off as Cas looks deeply into his eyes clearly recognising him. How could he not have noticed how blue those eyes were. Remarkable, mesmerising blue eyes.

"Dean," says Cas meaningfully, "I'm so glad you're here".

Dean feels the heat rise in his cheeks, looks down and stammers out "I'm so sorry but I've forgotten your name."

"It's Cas, and it's ok." Cas replies with a kind smile, the type of kind smile Dean hasn't seen since...maybe forever?

"Are you ok Dean?" Cas asks seriously looking at Dean's wrist splint.

"Ugh well apart from a broken wrist and temporary insanity, I guess so" replied Dean.

"Temporary insanity? What do you mean?"

"Well," Dean chuckles a little, "Call me stupid but there was nothing natural about that storm. I'm pretty sure I just got chased by lightning...and I saw this weird dog..."

"A dog?" Cas asks incredulously.

"Yeah" Dean nods. "It was...I dunno...like standing in a lightning bolt or something", Dean shakes his head. He can't believe the words coming out of his mouth. 'I mean a weird lightning dog what the hell is wrong with you,' he thought to himself.

"Cas I think we should get out of here" Dean says suddenly feeling an urgent need to get going. "Do you think you can get back up?"

"Yes, just a second" Cas replies as he slowly lifts himself up. Dean gives him support under his elbow and helps Cas around to the passenger seat.

"I don't know if the car will start" Cas turns to Dean worriedly.

"It's ok Cas, I'll get us going".

Once he seated Cas in the car, he grabbed the gear from their temporary camp and, throwing it in the bent up boot, dropped into the driver's seat and turned the engine over.

"Looks like just cosmetic damage Cas" he said as he revved the engine and moved the car slowly onto the highway. "Let's get you home."

Cas nods and tells Dean the address as Dean pulls the car into a u-turn across the empty highway. Putting his foot down and taking one last look back at the forest, he speeds the car away.

A large black dog, with brilliant green eyes, panting, steps out of the undergrowth. As it watches the car pull off into the distance it sits on its haunches and closes its muzzle. A brief shimmer of white light crackles down its coat before it gets up again and walks back into the forest.

Dean shuts the car engine off and helps Cas to the front door of his home.

"You'll be ok now," Dean says handing over the keys.

"No that's not happening." Cas says firmly, gripping Dean tight on the shoulder.

"The least you deserve is a shower and a decent bed for helping me out."

"I'm ok really and I'm not too good with houses," Dean says uncomfortably.

"Listen I'm not taking no for an answer ok? Just come in."

Dean follows Cas inside the house nervously. The last thing he needs right now is to get caught up with some guy. A warm shower though... he can't remember the last time he took a warm shower and he was suddenly extremely tired.

Cas tries the lights. They switch on fine. 'Huh. Must have been a short power outage from the storm' he thinks to himself.

"C'mon Dean" Cas calls after Dean as he walks down the hall, "I'll show you where to clean up and your bed for the night."

Too weary to argue anymore, Dean follows Cas down the hall. He sure is looking forward to that hot shower and those fresh sheets. Cas leads him to the guest room which has its own ensuite.

"Everything you need is in the cupboard, including fresh pyjamas that will hopefully fit, and a stocked bar fridge next to the bed. I hope you get a great night's sleep and I'll see you in the morning," Cas smiles warmly as he closes the door.

"Night," Dean says in wonder as he looks around. 'Wow, nice setup,' he thinks before stripping off, gently removing the wrist brace, and heading to the shower. Turning the hot water faucet to heat up, he says to himself in the mirror,

"Well Deano, what the fuck happens now?"

"Now you have a hot scrub and hit the sack, that's what!" He replies to himself.

Stepping into the steamy stream of water, Dean let's the pain and suffering wash away from his body with the dirt.

Closing his eyes and lifting his face into the stream of water, his whole body relaxes and for the first time, in what seems like forever, Dean remembers what it feels like to be home.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean's eyes open. Everything is black. For a moment he doesn't remember where he is. Adrenaline spikes in his body. He sits up. His heart thumping.

Looking around the room he remembers. He's in Cas's house. In Cas's guest room. In Cas's spare pyjamas.

Cas.

'Holy shit.' He feels himself getting hard at the thought of those liquid blue eyes; stroking those firm thighs. ' I'm drowning here,' he thinks with alarm. Dean's heart is still thumping, but this time the fear is altogether more distressing. This time he knows he's in mortal danger.

"Jesus, I... I can't stop" he whispers as he grips himself hard and lays his head back down slowly.

His eyes roll up and his eyelids close as he frees his rock hard cock from the pyjama pants and grips the silken flesh in his hand. A sigh escapes his lips as his hips rise with desire.

"Cas," he whispers as he imagines pressing his length up against the wet lips of the blue eyed man kneeling at his feet. In his fantasy, Cas's tongue just barely slips between those full lips and lightly touches Dean right under the head of his cock, right where the nerves are most exposed. Dean shudders at the thought of that first touch and pumps harder; falling deeper into the fantasy.

Dean reaches out to touch Cas's lips. He runs his thumb over that delicious bottom lip, watching the desire in Cas's eyes light into a burning flame. He pushes his thumb into the kneeling man's mouth, rubbing the inside of his cheek and tilting his head backwards so his neck is exposed.

Gripping Cas's neck in his other hand, he is filled with heat as Cas's eyes glaze over with the ecstasy of submission. Dean squeezes a little more then brings his own lips down to Cas's, filling Cas's mouth with his tongue and consuming him with his need to possess this blue-eyed angel.

Pulling away from Cas, his eyes hardening, Dean's lust gravelled voice demands, "Do you want to taste me Cas?" Cas is delirious with desire and nods heavily, keeping eye contact with Dean the whole time. With that look, Dean can't contain himself any longer.

Pushing his cock hard into Cas's mouth, he grips the short black hair at the back of the man's head, pulling his mouth onto his whole length. Cas's eyes are staring up at him while his tongue wraps itself around the engorged cock. Dean feels the heat in Cas's mouth rising as he slides his cock over those salivating lips and feels the back of Cas's palate as it grabs and pulls at the head of his cock. Releasing Cas's head, Dean withdraws as Cas sucks hard until his head pops out covered in saliva and precum.

Driving in over Cas's swelling lips again, Dean's breath catches every time he looks into those pools of blue. His head spins with lust and he moans as Cas lowers his chin and looks up at Dean through those long black lashes while he pounds faster into the man's mouth.

"Holy fuck I need this," Dean pants, watching his red bulging veins thicken on his cock as it enters that heated maw. "Deeper!" he commands Cas and Cas takes a deep breath before opening his throat to Dean's demands. Dean grabs Cas's head with both hands, slamming his cock into that beautiful face as far as it can go.

As he feels Cas's throat tighten around the head of his cock and his teeth scraping the base, Dean's head whips back and he cries out Cas's name in ecstasy. His cock throbs with a hard release and, hips bucking, Dean gushes hot cum into the bed sheets.

Opening his eyes and panting hard he relaxes his grip as his body falls into post orgasmic release.

"Ahhh, cum coma" he smiles, content.

He closes his eyes and imagines those blue eyes gazing at him, a finger gently wiping full lips. "Cas," he sighs. The name slips from his lips and he falls back into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Outside the window, a pair of green eyes flash as the black dog turns and trots away into the darkness.

Cas wakes up feeling sore and on a mission. He is thinking about the pet shelter and how he needs to get out there, when Dean enters the kitchen wearing a towel and drops of water from his hair on the top of his shoulders.

"Mornin," Dean says as he switches the jug on for a coffee.

"How did you sleep Dean?" Cas asks taking in the play of light and shadow over Dean's back muscles as he reaches up for a coffee cup from the glass panelled cupboards at head height.

Dean turns around and with a strange mix of deep gratitude and impish mischief lighting his eyes says "Cas, I could not be more grateful to you. I truly haven't slept so well in a long time. Thank you. Is there anything I can do to repay the favour?"

Cas recognises with surprise the invitation in Dean's voice. After processing the initial shock of awareness, his mind turns to duty and he replies" Dean actually there is. I need to get to my pet shelter and check on the animals but I also need the rear end of my car fixed. Can I entrust you to take the car here" Cas hands him a business card for a local panel beater," after you drop me off at the shelter? You won't need cash because I have an arrangement with Crowley, the panel beater, and then could you swing back to the shelter on the way back?"

Dean was a little disappointed that Cas hadn't taken him up on his obvious flirtation, but something inside him was feeling good to be needed to help someone.

"I'll look after it Cas. I swear you have nothing to worry about. I know you don't know me that well, and I don't normally feel the need to be around folks, but you've really helped me out here, and it would be an honour to return the favour."

"Oh thanks Dean", Cas says deep with feeling, " I felt I could trust you the moment I met you". Cas picked up his keys and the local news rag and called out "see you in five".

Dean finished his cup of coffee and jogged off to his bedroom to get dressed. He felt ready to help Cas out for the kindness the man had shown him.

"An angel," Dean thought, "a real life angel" as he pulled his jeans and button up shirt over his well proportioned frame, preparing to join Cas outside in the car. As soon as he pulled his own clothes on, a wave of uncertainty hit him. Why was he trusting this man? He'd learnt a million times in a million ways not to trust people. Yet here he was in this stranger's house and promising to help him out.

Dean shook his head. Something felt off.

"Ok, well head on a swivel Deano", he murmured to himself as he closed the front door and headed to Cas's car.

Cas was feeling anxious and awkward. He needed to stay focussed on the shelter but Dean's presence was distracting to say the least. He was trying to go through the tasks ahead of him and mentally counting down each of the dogs he needed to check on, but after about the fourth dog he found himself recalling the curl of Dean's wet hair on his neck and the curve of Dean's shoulder. An unsettling tightening in his cargo trousers made him shift in his seat. He was riding shotgun and it didn't help his focus that the smell of Dean, spice and musk, was filling the car; sending Cas out of his mind.

Eventually the torture was ended as they arrived at Cas's shelter and Dean pulled out of the drive to head towards Crowley's.

Cas turned his mind to the job at hand, but nothing prepared him for the sight that awaited him on the other side of the shelter door.

Dean nearly missed the entrance to Crowley's shop as it was buried behind a mass of dilapidated warehouses on the edge of a disintegrating light industry zone. As he drove Cas's car slowly up the gravelled and potholed driveway, Dean felt a growing sense of unease rising in his gut. Hyper vigilant, he rolled Cas's car to a stop about 20 metres in front of a building marked "Office" and as he got out slowly, took in his surrounds and pushed close the car door. A barking started up from somewhere hidden at the back of the buildings at the sound. As he started towards the office door, it suddenly opened to reveal a stout, muscular and bearded man wearing black overalls, a black tshirt, and a black and white bandanna tied around his head.

The man was watching Dean quietly, his face oil stained and neutral, arms crossed, as he stood waiting in the doorway.

"Hey, I'm looking for Crowley?" Dean stopped and called to the black garbed man.

"Who's asking?" replied the man in a deep gravelly voice with a thick foreign accent.

"Name's Dean and I'm here with Castiel Novak's car. He told me you would be able to look after it for him?" Dean replied.

The stout man stared intently with squinted dark eyes as Dean approached.

As Dean offered his hand to shake, the man turned away into the building, saying "I'm Crowley, come on in."

Inside Dean was surprised to find a very clean and modern waiting area and front desk. Appointed with finishing touches of derby pennants and chrome plated pictures of classic cars hanging from the wall, Crowley moved around the back of the desk behind a computer screen, grunting a little as he sat and waving Dean to take the leather lined seat in front of the desk.

As Dean seated himself slowly, Crowley looked up from the computer and gruffly asked "What happened to the car?".

Dean couldn't answer that for himself but he told Crowley what Cas had related to him about the accident:

"Cas lost control in the storm the other night and spun the car off the road and the rear smashed into a large tree."

Crowley grunted as his thick fingers typed in a disjointed rhythm on the computer.

"I've got a spare quarter panel. Should be about three hours to fix her up. I'll put it on Cas's tab. Keys please?"

Dean handed over the keys to Crowley, and after a short silence, asked "Anyway I could get a lift into town while it's getting done?"

Crowley replied by whistling and yelling out "Sammy, customer!"

A huge moose of a man entered the office from the back of the adjacent warehouse. Wearing long hair and greasy blue denim overalls with no shirt, he took a set of keys up off a cabinet.

Looking over Dean, Sammy introduced himself and stuck out a huge meaty hand with a vice like grip. Dean smiled nervously at the big guy introduced himself in return.

"Where do you need to go?" Sam asked flipping the keys in his hand.

"Somewhere to get a burger?" Dean replied. A huge flash of a grin lit up the face of the big man as he gripped Dean's shoulder and playfully slapped the guy on the back. " Alright well c'mon then, let's go eat!" Sam exclaimed, veritably dragging Dean out the door and around the corner of the building. As they rounded the final corner, Dean was confronted with a 100lb Rottweiler snapping its jaws and lunging against its 6ft fenced enclosure in what seemed to Dean to be an intent to thoroughly devour anyone in its gaping, salivating maw.

"Don't worry about Chomps, he just gets excited by visitors," said Sam fondly looking at the heaving beast.

"Right," Dean replied tensely giving the enclosure a wide berth.

Sam hauled open the rusting door of an ancient lorry and cranked over the engine. "Get in!" Sam yelled over the racket of the diesel engine.

Dean hauled himself up next to the grinning giant and strapped himself in before jolting suddenlybback into the bench seat as Sam dropped the clutch. The rust bucket belched out of the yard and back to the highway.

Cas was distraught. The entire shelter was a shambles. Glass windows were shattered and pieces of glass were strewn throughout the front office. The yards were filled with barking dogs escaped from their pens, with some cowering in terror inside their kennels while others ran around barking and fighting each other.

Cas was overwhelmed and looked around at the chaos and disorder with shocked disbelief.

"What the hell happened here?!" He whispered to himself. "How could this have happened?"

Focussing on one step at a time, Cas pulled out his phone and called a claim into his insurance company. Then he called the local fire brigade and domestic animal services to get help with the clean up and rehousing all the dogs. He called a glazier in town to come and quote for an emergency glass replacement, and finally he checked through the office to see if anything had been stolen. Miraculously it had not.

As various people started showing up, Cas was busy coordinating the clean up of the shelter. For several hours he worked with the fire brigade, animal workers and glaziers to recover what could be redeemed and remove what was unusable. He called one of the local vets to come and help check over the animals for injury or infection as they were returned to their cages.

After seven hours of non stop crisis management, Cas received a phone call. It was Dean. The car was repaired and he was heading over to pick up Cas. Cas decided to do one last check through of the animals before he left. It was only then that he realised the big German Shepherd was missing. Searching around the property failed to raise any sign of the animal. Cas was bewildered. How could the dog get out? It was like Alcatraz in the shelter! Remembering the smashed glass windows, Cas briefly thought the dog might have escaped through the office, but no not even a dog as big as that could have broken those windows or escaped unhurt. It was a mystery. At that moment, Dean pulled up in the car and beeped the horn to let Cas know he was there. Cas grabbed his notes and other particulars and jogged out to the car.

"Hey Cas, wow is everything ok here?" Dean asked surveying the rubbish piles of broken glass and ruined dog beds.

"No not really Dean, but I've done everything I can do today. I'd like to get home now," replied Cas wearily as he sat in the car.

Dean nodded and, turning over the engine, gave Cas an encouraging smile before accelerating out of the shelter towards home.

The Raijū lay gently panting inside its den deep in the woods. The Master had requested it to stay and so it would stay. Breathing in the heady musk of its body, mingled with the dank soil and rich waft of menthol from the surrounding forest, the Raijū's eyes gleamed like emeralds in the faintly reflected moon light. A shiver of excitement trembled through its thick black coat, setting off small sparks of electricity into the den's thick earth walls. It remembered the scent of the man: the one the Master had chosen. Whimpering with the effort to remain in one place, muscles tensed like a rubber band, the Raijū's ears pricked at a ghostly susurration from the surrounding trees. "Be still little one," breathed the ethereal voice of the Master, "for your time is nigh."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Cas was exhausted when they got home and poured himself a gin and lemon before crashing on the couch, eyes closed. Dean was unsure of what to do so left Cas to relax and went off to his room to have a shower.

Dean was washing the day's dirt off his body when he heard something in his bedroom. He leaned out of the shower and called out "Cas? Is that you?"

"Yes, sorry Dean, just leaving you some dinner I put together. It's not much but I'm too tired to do more," Cas replied wearily.

"Cas, you shouldn't have!" Dean exclaimed. He rinsed off quickly, switched off the shower and, wrapping a towel around his waist, walked into the bedroom just as Cas was about to close the door and leave.

"Cas..." Dean called and the dark haired man turned to face him.

"Don't go yet?" Dean asked hesitantly.

Cas looked Dean square in the eyes, his heart skipping at the implication of Dean's words.

"I..I just want to make you...feel better" Dean sighed, looking down at his feet, wet hair dripping rivulets down his broad chest and into the fine hairs underneath his navel. Cas stared hard at the gorgeous man in front of him, his eyes slowly taking in every goose bump on Dean's golden tan skin, and each raised hair on his muscle toned arms. He savoured every inch of that delicious body, feeling his need for the young man rising with his pulsing, aching cock, and racing heartbeat.

Cas's eyes finally landed at the intersection of Dean's curly golden brown belly hairs and the thick white cotton towel wrapped just above Dean's crotch. Underneath that towel he spied a hint of an outline...

At that moment, Cas could contain his desire no longer. Striding over to the younger man, he gripped Dean's ass in his hands and pulled that delicious frame hard onto his own crotch, mashing his hidden erection against Dean's towel wrapped length. Grabbing Dean's face in both hands, Cas stared hungrily into Dean's lust widened eyes and kissed him hard on those amazing cherry lips; thrusting his tongue inside Dean's beautiful mouth and sucking the spongy sweetness of his tongue. Dean melted under Cas's control, losing himself in the ecstasy of that erotic, ravishing kiss and the unspoken demand to surrender himself completely. Cas was consuming him, taking Dean's lust and matching it with his own flame until, Dean's knees weakened under the assault, Cas pushed him back onto the bed, ripped away the towel from around his hips, and stood back gazing boldly at the naked thickened penis standing erect before him. Still staring greedily at Dean's swollen cock, with his mouth slightly open and panting softly, Cas undid his belt and pulled it smoothly from its restraining loops, folding it in half with large capable hands.

"Hello Dean," Cas breathed, leaning down heavily towards Dean's face with cold fire blazing in his eyes. Cas gripped Dean by the throat with onehand, forcing the young man's chin up and his dilated pupils to stare deeply into his own. He dragged the flat edge of the leather belt down Dean's chest with his other hand.

"So you want to make me feel better hmm?" Cas questioned suggestively, eyebrow raised and wicked intent oozing from his every pore. Dean closed his eyes, and sucked in his lower lip instinctively, completely overcome by the power this man had over him.

"Well let's see just how much you really want it..."

A crash of breaking glass outside the bedroom startled both men. Cas stood up looking towards the door, and Dean jumped up and wrapped the discarded towel around his hips.

"What the hell was that?" Dean exclaimed breathlessly.

"Shhh," Cas motioned Dean to be quiet and still as the sound of panting and padded paws slowly moved towards the bedroom, filling the inky silence of the room.

Flashes of light illuminated the doorway as the scratch of sharp nails against hardwood jarred the nerves of the frozen men.

Dean moved back slowly, to put the bed between him and the door, while staring at the flashes emanating from beyond its frame. Cas stood frozen to the spot, jaw clenched and muscles taught - ready to react - with his belt gripped in a white knuckled fist and forearm veins protruding and pulsing from the adrenaline racing through his body.

The heavy tread of the paws stopped outside the room and both men watched in horror as a huge black shadow was cast against the door frame. Slowly a black maw dripping saliva revealed itself, inch by inch, followed by glowing green eyes and huge shoulders wrapped in wild black fur that seemed to hiss, crackle and flash with electricity.

As the huge black wolf entered the room slowly it kept its green eyes on Cas, pinning him in with its penetrating glare. Step by step, paw by paw, the animal approached Cas until, face to face with the blue eyed man, it dropped to the ground at Cas's feet, and licked his shoe.

"Aaaah you are here, good" smiled Cas as Dean stared in complete confusion.

"Wha?" stammered the younger man, not able to make sense of what he was witnessing.

At the sound of Dean's voice, Cas turned around to face him with a menacing grin on his face and his eyes burning bright blue. Dean scuttled backwards and cowered in fear away from those burning eyes pushing himself into the corner of the bedroom.

"Why Dean," Cas whispered threateningly, "and here you were wanting to make me feel better...tsk tsk. No hiding now, it's time to deliver the goods," Cas chuckled. Cas, or whatever the thing in front of Dean was, nodded at the huge black wolf who, turning his green gaze on Dean and shaking his coat into crackling displays of electricity, leaned back on his haunches and leapt into the air towards Dean. Dean screamed in terror as the huge animal soared towards him, its mouth agape and huge teeth bared, before everything suddenly went black.

*Flashback*

Sam and Dean pulled up to a truck stop a little out of town on the interstate. They ordered burgers with the lot and a soda each and found a booth by the windows looking out onto the forested hills outside.

"So what do ya do normally, or is this it?" Sam asked.

"Just sort of odd jobs here and there you know. I don't have a place. Well I didn't until Cas put me up."

"Hmm," replied Sam looking down with a sudden grave look on his face. The change in Sam's demeanour was so unexpected and total that Dean was suddenly very uneasy.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" Dean asked cautiously.

"Well, uh, its none of my business really..." Sam paused avoiding Dean's gaze.

Dean reached across the table and gripped Sam's forearm.

"Sammy, c'mon man" Dean pleaded.

"Uh ok", Sam turned directly to face Dean. His usual charm and humour noticeably disappeared and a dark look haunted his eyes.

"Dean, Cas isn't everything he seems to be," Sam said, barely raising his voice above a whisper. "He comes across as this super generous guy who has it all together, but believe me man... it ain't what it seems."

Dean sat back in the bench seat, shocked and with a growing dread rising in his gut. Sam had turned away again and was staring out the window with a deep frown and a far away look in his eyes. Dean had no idea what to make of this warning. That's what it was, wasn't it? A warning. A memory of feeling like something wasn't right dodged at the edge of Dean's consciousness. He had enough experience to know when someone was bullshitting him or not and it was clear as day that Sam was speaking his truth.

A waitress arrived at the table and served up their burgers. Both men sunk into the juicy buns feeling their stomachs growl with hunger at the smell of the delicious steak inside.

"Mmm goooood," Dean mumbled, mouth full.

Sam looked up at Dean and smiled ruefully with his cheeks full of burger and chuckled "You look like a damn squirrel with all that burger in there Dean!" Dean grunted and looked up at his new friend with his eyes alight "Shuddup ya big moose!"

Both men snorted with laughter and hoed into their burgers, all talk of Cas forgotten in the joy of a shared love of food. Sam went back to telling funny stories in between bites of burger while Dean ate quietly, occasionally snuffling at Sam's jokes. But Dean hadn't forgotten what Sammy had told him and underneath the jovial comaraderie, something pulled at Dean's awareness with dark intent.

The smell was the first thing Dean noticed, an acrid musky smell burning his nostrils. Cracking open his eyes, he could see nothing at first, but as his vision became accustomed to the gloom he could see a familiar face in front of him.

"Sa..."

"Shhh," Sam whispered moving the smelling salts away from his friend.

"Don't move," he added as Dean tried to lift his head from the floor.

"It will take you a minute to get your strength back and then we've got to get out of here," Sam explained in a hushed tone.

Dean nodded, confused, but in complete agreement with the getting out of here business. His eyes started to focus on his surroundings and he recognised nothing familiar. The room seemed like an underground basement with weird piles of rags in discarded heaps randomly scattered around the room. As Dean's eyes refocused on Sam's face he could see the fear and anxiety in the young man's eyes as he nervously kept watch toward what looked like the only exit out of the place.

"Do you think you can stand yet?" Sam whispered nervously.

"I'll damn well try" Dean replied dryly under his breath as he slowly rolled to his left side and pushed himself up on an elbow. After a second to steady his pounding head, he pushed himself to his knees, and finally, with Sam's strength to help him, got to his feet.

"This way," Sam breathed, leading the stumbling Dean toward the darkened exit.

Putting his ear to the door, Sam listened for footsteps and breathing from its other side. Hearing none, he cracked open the door very slowly, peering through the crack to scout for danger.

"We're good but Dean we're going to have to move fast ok?"

Dean nodded and focussed his remaining energy towards making as fast a break as possible. Opening the door wide, he and Sam burst out into the bright light of the sun and ran towards the deeper shade of the surrounding trees. They were in the woods.

"Keep up Dean," Sam looked at Dean and started running down through the trees, leaping over fallen logs and stopping for breath behind large trunks every 20 metres or so. Dean did his best to stay with the younger man but felt weaker and dizzier the further they moved into the forest. Finally he grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him behind a pile of fallen logs well covered in fungus and moss.

"I need a rest. I'm going to pass out" Dean rasped, breathing heavily.

Sam looked up and over the protection of the log pile they hid behind. Satisfied they were alone for the moment, he nodded to Dean and helped him to lay down in the moss carpeted undergrowth.

"I'm going to do a quick recon to make sure we are safe and then I'll be back. Stay here, don't move and try to get your strength back. This isn't over yet," Sam added before moving away in a crouching run.

Dean, too exhausted and faint to argue, rolled as far under one of the fallen tree trunks that he could get, covered himself with moss he tore from the ground around him and closed his eyes to wait.

Sam moved silently through the surrounding forest, looking out for signs of recent occupation or travel through the undergrowth. As he circled closer towards the hidden shelter they had recently evacuated, Sam became more and more wary and intent in his observations.

When he thought he was close enough to observe the hidden door without being exposed, he found a covered depression to hide in and, disguising his whole body except his eyes, prepared for a long watch.

As the sun started to disappear behind the horizon of the surrounding mountains, long shadows crept toward the otherwise unpresuming hillock that hid the shelter. It was soon after that Sam noticed movement along the length of one of those shadows. Reducing his breathing to almost nothing and remaining completely still, Sam watched as huge black paws, followed by terrible green flashing eyes emerged like liquid obsidian from the shadows of the trees. Jaw low and body crouched, the black monster wolf slinked its way towards the shelter door.

Suddenly a twig cracked in the branches of a nearby tree and the green eyed monster froze in its tracks, eyes like lasers beading on where the noise emanated. A second passed before a wood pigeon flapped furiously into the dusky sky surrounding the hillock and away from view.

The huge black wolf resumed scanning the area, sniffing the air and panting deep and slow before resuming its measured approach to the shelter door.

On reaching the door, the monster seemed to push something with its paw to the left near the ground. The door swung open smoothly and the huge black wolf disappeared inside. The door closed behind it as if moved by some unseen force.

Sam let out a low breath. Realising he had very little time before they were exposed as missing, he got up quickly and ran as fast as he could back to where he had left Dean to recover. Somehow he had to get them to the road and his truck before they were found. Because if they were found, well... they were dead.

Cas's eyes opened with a start as he felt the hot breath of the wolf on his face. Terrified he pushed himself up and looked around. "No" he whispered as he suddenly realised where he was. "Not again!" The wolf stepped back cautiously away from Cas at the sound of the anger and pain his voice. Cupping his face with his hands, Cas shuddered with the knowledge of the violation that had taken over his body. He thought he had done the right thing by Crowley in sending Dean with the car. He thought Crowley would protect both of them from the evil that had taken over this town. He'd cut a deal with Crowley! How the hell had this happened? And where was Dean? Cas got up to search the bunker for the younger man with no success.

"He must have got away," he mumbled to himself. Running towards the bunker door with the wolf following at his heels, he slammed it open into the forest night. Staring up to the star encrusted sky, he closed his eyes, stretched his wings, and was gone.

Sam lay Dean down across the rumpled bed in the roadside motel he had found for them to hide in. Gently pulling the cover over Dean's unconscious form, he whispered "take it easy bro, you'll be alright soon, I promise." He got up and walked to the filthy curtained window. Moving the curtain a fraction to look outside, he peered into the darkness of the motel car park.

Suddenly a bright flash blinded Sam and he instinctively screwed up his eyes and sunk into a defensive posture; arms protecting his head. He felt a grip on his arm and, looking up, stared in fear at the bright blue eyes radiating power down at him.

"Sam," Cas said pulling Sam up to his full height. Sam realised they were outside in the car park in front of the door he had just been standing behind.

"Sam", Cas repeated tugging at Sam's arm. "What Cas?!" Sam replied, snatching his arm away from Cas's hand. Cas lowered his energy back to normal human levels and, staring with great solemnity at Sam, said "we have to talk."

Nodding, Sam calmed down. Looking vigilantly around the car park, he grabbed Cas's shoulder and steered him towards the motel door. "Not out here Cas," he whispered.

At the door Cas waited patiently for Sam to take him inside the room.

Sam, standing next to him, looked incredulously at Cas.

"What?" asked Cas.

"I don't have the key, idiot, and the door's locked" said Sam in an exasperated whisper.

"Oh," replied Cas and grabbed Sam's arm. Both men disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean woke up naked to the sound of thumping skin and moans.

'What the fuck?' He peered towards the sound trying to get his eyes to focus in the dark. He could make out two shapes silhouetted in the tiny amount of light available to him. The moans and slap of skin against skin crescendoed as he rolled to his side and got up on one elbow. He was covered in sweat and felt light headed. "Sam?" He croaked softly, his throat parched and dry, "Sam!" he choked out coughing and falling back against the bed. The moans and slaps increased to fever pitch as Dean covered his face with his hands and tried to block out the noise from his splitting head. "Sammy! Help!" He called out desperately, feeling his consciousness falling away.

The next time Dean opened his eyes a crack, the daylight burnt into his retina and he winced as if his brain had been sliced in two. "Son of a bitch," he cursed in pain and pushed himself up. His bladder felt like it would burst any second and his mouth tasted like sawdust and dirt. Squinting against the light he stumbled into the filthy bathroom and proceeded to relieve himself. After a shake and a flush, he splashed cold water from the sink onto his face and looked up wearily into the mirror. Cas was standing right behind him. "Holy shit!" He gasped and spun around to face Cas with a start. "Almost Dean," Cas said flatly. Dean was shocked and frightened by the appearance of the man who, last he saw, seemed to be some kind of devil thing.

"It's ok Dean," Sam's voice floated around the bathroom corner before the face of the young man appeared behind Cas's shoulder. "Cas is one of the good guys. Just come and sit down and we'll explain everything." Sam gestured to the beds.

Sliding past Cas, and super conscious of his naked body, Dean quickly strode over to the bed he had risen from; tucking his lower body under the coverlet. "Ok," he said warily, "What in the hell is going on here?"

Sam sat down on the bed across from Dean's bed, while Cas remained standing at the bathroom door.

"You've probably got a lot of questions right now Dean but we haven't got time to go through everything. I'll just give you the basics." Sam began.

"Ok," Dean nodded uncertainly still half-eyeing Cas standing quietly.

"Do you believe in monsters Dean?" Sam asked.

"Well... I believe in monstrous people..." Dean conceded.

"No I mean actual monsters, and spirits and such?" Sam clarified.

"Uuh..." Dean stammered, looking confused from Sam to Cas and back to Sam.

"Well, they're real Dean." Sam looked earnestly into Dean's eyes trying to get the confused man to understand. "They're real and one lives right here in this town... The Raijū."

"The Ra.. what?" Dean's face mirrored the incredulity he felt in his mind. 'What the hell is this clown talking about? This is insane. How do I get out of here?' Thoughts raced through Dean's mind and he started to look around for a way out.

"Wait! Dean, listen, I know this is crazy sounding but I'm telling you the truth!" Sam implored as he saw the panic rising in Dean's face.

"It's true Dean. Sit down and hear Sam out". At the sound of Cas's voice Dean sat back down and stared at the man he thought had shown great generosity to him but had also freaked the living shit out of him.

He shook his head, "None of this is making a damn ounce of sense" he groaned, gripping his head in his hands. "Monsters... you Cas... and that Dog thing! What on Earth are you talking about Sam!?" Dean pleaded. "You three gallons of crazy in a two gallon bucket?!"

Sam looked at Dean with compassion and concern in his eyes. He reached out and gripped the forearm of the overwhelmed man and, holding firmly, said "Dean hush, calm down. Give me five minutes to explain and then, if you still want to run, you can go."

Dean looked into the face of his friend and across to the steely gaze of Cas. Cas nodded tightly toward Sam. Taking a deep breath, Dean acquiesced: "Ok, five minutes. That's it. Then I'm gone from this crazy circus."

Sam nodded with a tight lipped smile. He let go of Dean's arm and sat up straight on the bed. Looking down at his hands he wondered where to begin this incredible story. With a sigh, he looked up at Dean and said "It all started fifty years ago..."

"There was this Japanese guy called Yuuto who lived in the town and had a kind of Japanese curiosity shop. He didn't make a lot of money but he was a real character and most everyone knew him. Maybe they thought he was a bit crazy, but they never thought he'd do anything harmful."

"He spent a lot of time in the bar listening to the various woes of the farmers roundabout these parts. There had been a long drought and crops were failing from lack of water everywhere. Turns out Yuuto means helpful or something in Japanese and this guy sees it as his life purpose to try and help people out."

"Yuuto was a Shinto devotee and he kept a journal of his life experiences. After hearing the farmers' complaints, he wrote a journal entry trying to figure out how he could help them. He decided he needed to pray to the Shinto god Raijin to bring storms to the area and help the farmers with their crops. To try and bring some extra guarantees that his prayers would work, he used an old Japanese ritual of summoning the Raijin that had been passed down in the lore of his family. He planned to appeal directly to the god. What he didn't know was that one of the ritual objects he had used in the ritual from his curiosity store was actually magic. The god Raijin appeared that night, summoned by Yuuto, bringing thunder and lightning and a great storm with him. Yuuto was terrified by the appearance of the god but to his credit decided to go ahead and plead with the god to bring prosperity and plentiful water to the region so the farmers' crops could succeed."

"The Raijin laughed at Yuuto's request and, as he did, lightning flashed and tore through the sky. He asked Yuuto why he should bother with the woes of these farmers. Yuuto pleaded with the god, eventually offering his own service in exchange for the god's favour. The Raijin looked intrigued by this man who would offer his own life to help strangers he barely even knew. The Raijin decided to humour the man. He told Yuuto that if he were to grant this special boon, Yuuto would become his Raijū companion on Yuuto's death. Yuuto agreed to the deal and afterwards wrote the entire experience in his diary. It wasn't long before his sacrifice made a difference to the lives of the community. Farmers found their crops in abundance year after year and the town never ran out of water again."

"One day Yuuto was walking home from his shop when he was attacked by a huge black dog. The dog mauled him to death. Although people came running to help him when they heard his screams, the attack was so savage and swift that very little could be done. The dog ran out of town and Yuuto lay bleeding in the street. They lifted his lifeless body from the ground and gave him an official Shinto burial in the town cemetery."

"About six months later a local girl who had been helping out at the church saw a huge black wolf with green eyes staring at her as she walked home along the forest road from the church hall. She was so frightened by the sight she ran full tilt the rest of the way home and, in breathless gasps, related the story to her Pa."

"Her Pa was one of the people who had seen Yuuto killed by the huge black dog, and so he gathered his weapons and called on a group of men from the town to help him hunt the beast. He was convinced it was the same monster that had killed Yuuto. The men entered the forest intent on trapping and shooting the beast. Strangely, the sky had turned an evil green grey colour and ominous black clouds started filling the heavens. As the men sought the beast, lightning started cracking across the sky and soon torrential rain and gale force winds blew up from nowhere. The womenfolk of the town were anxious for their men, but they could do nothing but batter down in the face of the strange storm. By morning the storm had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived."

"When the men never returned home the next day, the panicking women formed a search party with the assistance of the state troopers. For hours they searched the forest around the outskirts of town looking for the missing men. Just before nightfall, a call came over the radio. The men had been found. Dead and mauled. No one had witnessed a sight quite like it. It was like a typhoon had taken animal form and ripped the doomed hunting posse limb from limb. Very little of the remains were recognisable as human, let alone as the men who had left the day before. The news ran an article on the deaths and the townsfolk grieved and banned anyone from going into the forest from that day on."

"Years passed and the town slowly recovered from the forest massacre. The legend of the Storm dog grew. Children, like me, grew up doubting the monster in the forest was real. We all thought our parents and grandparents were superstitious nutcases. We'd regularly make clandestine raids into the forest. Nothing weird ever happened.

Then one day I was out in the forest when a storm started brewing. It got dark real quick so I looked for a place to shelter. Finally I came across a kind of bunker in the deepest part of the forest. It was just a mound with a door in it."

"The bunker we were in," said Dean quietly.

"Yes," replied Castiel gravely, making Dean turn suddenly towards the man. He had forgotten Cas was in the room. Castiel was looking intensely at Dean and it made the young man feel deeply uncomfortable. Sam cleared his throat and Dean turned back to his friend.

"Yeah exactly. So I found a way to open the door and I hid inside away from the storm. I must have eventually fallen asleep, because when I woke up I looked straight into the green eyes of a huge black wolf."

Sam told Dean how the huge animal was not in any way aggressive towards him and seemed more curious than anything else to find a human in its lair. Sam however had no idea how he was going to get out of this situation alive. He didn't move for hours, waiting until the monster finally moved away and curled its obsidian limbs underneath itself, resting its maw on a giant black paw.

"After some time had passed it was clear the monster was asleep," Sam continued.

"I took the chance to move in as small and silent a way as I could. I was able to make my way towards where a small shaft of sunlight was penetrating the dusty gloom of the bunker. I found it was coming from where the door jamb did not fit closely to its frame. I could not easily locate a mechanism to open the door and decided to wait and see if I could get an opportunity to escape."

"He didn't have to wait long," Castiel interjected and Dean looked at the older man in surprise. "I had been searching for the bunker of the Raijū for some time as part of my mission. I came across it at this exact moment," Cas added.

"You were there?" Dean asked, puzzled by this. He looked from Sam to Cas and back to Sam, suddenly realising how far over his head he was. Sam and Cas both watched as Dean's face moved through shocked disbelief to fear and finally to stonewalled neutrality.

"Yes Dean, that's right. I was there," replied Cas gently.

"What are you Cas?!" Dean demanded, pulling himself away from the two men, every muscle in his body tensed and ready for flight.

"I'm an Angel of the Lord," Cas answered and at that moment his eyes filled with blue electric light and his whole body radiated power.

Dean fell back terrified and awed from the sight and power of this being. This man he thought was just an ordinary guy with a generous heart was so much more than he had bargained for.

Cas resumed his normal appearance and, seeing the overwhelming panic in Dean's face, sought to reach out and calm him. Dean pulled away violently from Cas's outstretched hand and got to his feet with the bed between him and the two other men.

"Dean, just listen," said Sam urgently. "I know this is a huge thing to take in, but I promise you that things will make a lot more sense when you've heard the full story."

"Well, uh, I've just got to take a leak before we continue," replied Dean heading towards the bathroom door. He watched the faces of the two other men as he closed the door. He bolted it from the inside and then, finding the window big enough to squeeze through, got out of the damn place and ran down to the highway hoping for a ride to arrive super fast. He had barely caught his breath when a truck came into view. Sticking his thumb out, Dean caught the attention of the truck driver who pulled over to let him jump into the cab. As Dean jumped up to the seat he looked back up to the hotel to see Cas and Sam bursting out of the room and running towards him yelling and waving. Dean turned to the driver and said "Let's get the hell outta here," only then getting a good look at the driver's face. Green flashing eyes in a face almost entirely covered with a black dense beard and a smile full of canine teeth leered back at him. "Hello Dean," the werewolf man grinned as he shifted the rig into gear and Dean felt the truck heave forward. Looking back out the window he saw Sam and Cas fading into the distance as the truck picked up speed. He tried the door and found himself locked in to the cabin. The werewolf man broke into sadistic laughter as he watched Dean's dawning realisation of his predicament out of the corner of his eye. The werewolf leaned over and grabbed Dean's chin, forcing him to come eye to eye with those strangely alien orbs. Menacingly, the werewolf stared at Dean for a second then, laughing, it said "Whatever you say Dean, whatever you say."


End file.
